Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Delightful: America's Best Jewish Baker Isn't Actually Jewish

“It created a really heartfelt emotion for me that I was making things that resonated with people. I was making a good version of things that maybe they hadn’t had before, or had a long time ago. There’s a joy when you’re cooking or baking for somebody. I think food is always attached to memories.”

That is Jewish food in a nutshell.

Several years ago, I had a rather melancholy conversation with someone whose mother was a Holocaust survivor.

He told me how he only realized in his early adult years how poor they actually were when he was growing up. He said his mother bought bags of chicken necks because they were the cheapest part of the chicken.

He said that he had no idea that they were considered the most undesirable part of the chicken because his mom's food was so delicious, and there was so much love it in, that it was incomprehensible to him that anyone could NOT want to eat exactly what he was eating-the necks.

So making food is certainly an expression of love, consuming it with the people you love is also a human delight. Watching people you love enjoy the fruits of your labour is truly glorious, especially one's children.